Relic (2020)

RelicKay needs to visit her old family home after receiving the message that her elderly mother Edna has gone missing. Bringing her daughter Sam with her, they both try to find clues which could help them figure out Edna’s whereabouts. Once inside the old country home, they soon find evidence all over the place regarding Edna’s increasing dementia. Post-it notes are found everywhere, with reminders of everyday things. After three days, Edna suddenly appears inside the house like nothing has ever happened, causing both tremendous relief for Kay and Sam, but also increased worry. The old lady’s behavior starts becoming more and more incomprehensible, and it feels like an ominous presence has taken control over her.

 

This year there have been so many horror movies postponed that was supposed to come to the theaters. So it goes without saying that, while starting the year off with great movies like The Lighthouse, Golden Glove and The Invisible Man, we Horror Ghouls haven’t had many chances to get our horror fix at the big screen for the remainder of the year. Thus, it was a nice surprise to see that our local cinema here in Norway had put up screenings for this Aussie horror flick.

 

Relic is Natalie Erika James’s debut feature film, and is a psychological horror movie with dementia/Alzheimer’s as the core of its terrifying happenings. The director used her own experiences as inspiration for the movie, as her grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s for years. Upon visiting her in a traditional Japanese house (which she perceived as rather creepy) and for the first time experiencing that her grandmother no longer recognized her, it filled her with feelings of grief, guilt and fear. Which is quite understandable. Alzheimer’s is a terrible condition both to be in, and witness loved ones succumbing to. It doesn’t just make you forget things, it sooner or later makes you forget how to remember…and there is no way back from that. It’s a disease that causes both pain, confusion and fear, to the extent where there are even cases among religious people where family members perceive it as so terribly frightening, that instead of calling the doctor they prepare for an exorcism. Which is just…incredibly sad, if you think about it. And Relic does an excellent job on portraying the feelings of hopelessness and creeping dread.

 

Already from the start of the movie, where you witness an eerie scene with an overflowing bathtub with water running down to the steps below, only to meet Edna naked with only a towel covering the front of her body while looking anxiously inside the dark living room, we know this movie is going to play heavily on atmosphere. And in that regard, I think the choice of surroundings are perfect, with Edna’s typical country home which has gotten a bit run down, and the glimpses we see of an old shack which used to be there in the past. It is a bit of a slow-burner and it doesn’t rush in telling you its tale, but it keeps your interest up by feeding you eerie details, chilling atmosphere and compelling visuals.

 

For those unfortunate enough to have personal experience with the dreadful disease, the movie’s metaphors will be quite clear, and some of them are pretty cleverly made. Having knowledge of and/or a certain investment in the disease will, in all likelihood, heighten your experience with this film. If you view the film by taking everything that happens literally, without understanding the rather discernible metaphors, you will miss out on the true horror laying beneath the layers.

 

Relic

 

Director: Natalie Erika James
Country & year: Australia | USA, 2020
Actors: Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin, Bella Heathcote, Steve Rodgers, Chris Bunton, Robin Northover, Catherine Glavicic, Christina O’Neill, John Browning, Jeremy Stanford
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt9072352/

 

Vanja Ghoul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ouija Shark (2020)

Ouija Shark (2020)

So, it’s time to check out one of the newest, fresh releases of shitty shark films that have been spewed out like a never-ending diarrhea during the last two decades. This joke of a film is “directed” by Brett Kelly (who goes under the pseudonym Scott Patrick), who’s made a laundry list of no-budget films since 2001, such as Jurassic Shark, Raiders of the Lost Shark, Attack of the Giant Leeches, Avenging Force: The Scarab, Kingdom of the Vampire, Agent Beetle, and so on. Ouija Shark has no relation to Ghost Shark or Shark Exorcist, for those who would even give a shit.

 

The “plot” can be summed up in one short sentence: A young woman comes across a Ouija board at the local beach, which her and her friends are using to summon a… man-eating ghost shark.

 

Do I really need to say more? I mean, seriously, just take a look at the damn trailer, that speaks for itself. It’s exactly what you think it is. To even call this a “film” is one of the biggest understatements of the year, having a running time of about one hour and ten minutes, with zero budget, talent or script. It looks more like a compilation of gag reels stitched randomly together. Pure cringe from start to finish.

 

The shark itself is pretty funny, though, which is just a layer that wobbles around on the screen, while the actors really struggle to seem at least a little bit terrified as they are being chased in the woods in broad daylight. The shark also roars like a lion, which is actually a thing that goes way back to Shark Attack 2 from 2000. I also like the sound effect when the shark is supposed to eat its victims, which sounds like someone taking two bites of an apple in a videogame to increase the health bar. And you can forget about any blood and gore, the victims just disappear into thin air. The lack of effort is quite astonishing, this is a whole another level of not even trying.

 

One of the cheesiest moments of the film include some scenes featuring a non-convincing fortune teller with a flashing plastic ball, probably bought on the Halloween section at Walmart for under one dollar, while the rest of the budget must have been spent on the misleading poster which doesn’t represent the movie in any single way. However, if you know exactly what kind of film this is before pressing the play button, you may at least be in for some good laughs! Because, with the right mindset, low-budget indie horror like this can be an entertaining way to waste a bit of your time.

 

Ouija Shark

 

Director: Brett Kelly
Country & year: Canada, 2020
Actors: Leslie Cserepy, Leslie Cserepy, Kylie Gough, Robin Hodge, Staci Marie Lattery, Kyle Martellacci, John Migliore
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt11650674/

 

Sequel: Ouija Shark 2 (2022)

 

Tom Ghoul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Turning (2020)

The Turning (2020)Kate is applying for a job as the new governess for Flora Fairchild, a wealthy young heiress whose parents are both dead. Flora’s older brother, Miles, soon arrives home from boarding school, and it appears he’s got an attitude that Kate finds troublesome. In fact, Kate starts experiencing things around the house that makes her believe something is going on, and it cannot all be blamed on tricks put in by little children. What is going on inside the house – and what happened to the previous governess who just ran away?

 

It isn’t often that we see a movie purely based on a curiosity of how much of a stinker it really is. Upon its release, The Turning received almost unanimously bad reviews, with very low scores. It was obvious that a lot of people didn’t just dislike the movie, in fact, many seemed to be quite pissed off by it. So what is all the fuss about? Well…

 

First of all, let me start off by saying that the movie is another take on Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw, which has been put on the screen several times before. This movie is quite loosely based, however, which may be off-putting for people who are fans of the novella. Still, the movie isn’t that much of a stinker as we thought it would be, to be honest. It does have a fair amount of atmosphere and creepy settings, great visuals and good acting by the cast. While it’s not the least bit scary, and even a bit slow, it could have fared well as a simple gothic ghost story…but there is a major flaw: the ending. It’s both sad and a little baffling that they chose an ending which leaves the viewer both confused and frustrated. It’s a perfect example of how an ending can literally destroy a movie, and if it wasn’t for the overall okay experience prior to the movie’s final moments, it wouldn’t be so disappointing. I mean…we’ve seen a ton of horror movies that are just lacking throughout, so a bafflingly bad ending doesn’t make much of a difference. Here, however, it just feels unfair, and you get the impression that this ending was added more like a rushed afterthought and not being the planned ending at all. I have heard there is an alternative ending included on the physical releases, and I can imagine it’s better (then again, pretty much anything would be better).

 

Now, I cannot say I feel that watching The Turning was a total waste of time just because of its final moments. With its strong visuals and good cast we did find it somewhat entertaining throughout, despite it being a bit slow and sluggish. I’m guessing that viewing it with its alternative ending may make it an overall better experience. Of course, since we watched this movie with very low expectations and were already aware of its supposedly horrible ending, I’d say we came prepared. We find that its fair to give the movie the “Creepy” badge, but mostly due to the atmospheric scenery and visuals.

 

The Turning

 

Directors: Floria Sigismondi
Country & year: UK | Ireland | Canada | USA | India, 2020
Actors: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Barbara Marten, Joely Richardson, Niall Greig Fulton, Denna Thomsen, Kim Adis, Darlene Garr
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt7510346/

 

Vanja Ghoul